The Raven's Chronicles. Rage of the Wraith

Chapter 31. The Day of Light

Chapter 28. The Day of Light

Jules walked up and down the corridor before the infirmary's closed door, running his hands through his hair. The thoughts were as tangled as the brown locks around on his head.

"Give it a break," Ravin leaned his back against the wall. He reached out and grasped the back of Jules' tunic just as the boy came to a turn by him. "If you have too much energy, go jogging."

"You don't let me out of the castle," Jules reminded him petulantly. He leaned against the wall by his master. "I just can't stand it!" he slammed his fists against the stones. "Think of all those people! Melissa... She's toying with us! Can we ever catch up with her?"

"We have to."

Jules slumped down into a sitting position. He pulled his legs up to his chest and rested his head on top of his knees. Mrs Thatcher' words echoed inside his head. 'She killed them all'. And then, the wraith had consumed their bodies... How strong would she become after feeding on so many people?

"Hey, Jules," Ravin reached out and tousled his apprentice's hair. "It'll be alright."

The boy shook his head, grimacing.

"How can you be so calm?" Jules ground his teeth. "I know what happened when you fought a wraith with Master Pritchard! Raimont told me!"

"Him and his big mouth," Ravin stuck his hands in the pocket of his trousers. He took a deep breath, but before he could add anything, the infirmary door opened.

Lara went into the corridor and closed the door quietly.

"They will be fine," she brushed her fiery lock back. "They were hysterical, so I gave them a calming potion. Now they are asleep. You'll have to wait until they wake up if you want to question them."

"How's Lucy?" Jules stood up and turned toward the healer. The Chief's daughter brought back the memories of his late sister. The two of them didn't look alike, and Lucy had survived a massacre while Maya hadn't. But they had been through a similar terror, and in Lucy's terrified eyes he could see a mirror reflection of his sister's face. "She'll be all right, won't she?"

"Evionel is sitting by her, in case she had nightmares," Lara gave the boy a warm smile. "I'm sure they'll recover."

She returned to the infirmary, leaving them alone by the closed door.

"I need to talk to Kedmon," Ravin patted Jules' arm to get his attention. The boy jumped, pulled out of thoughts. "Do you want to go with me?"

Jules nodded and followed his master down the corridor. As he climbed the stairs, his calf started to throb again - Lara had warned him it could hurt if he walked too much. Her magic made his wounds heal, but the tissue of his muscles had still to grow tight together.

"Jules," Ravin halted at the middle of the corridor. "You're limping."

"It's nothing," the boy shrugged.

"You're a bad liar and you know it," Ravin's voice sounded both stern and worried. "Did you use the ointment from Lara this morning?"

"Of course I did," Jules rolled his eyes. "We're almost at the Lord's office. Let's keep going."

They knocked at the door, but no one answered it. Jules waited at the corridor as Ravin went upstairs to see if Lord Kedmon was in his chamber. They came down together after a few minutes, arguing quietly.

"You won't make me change my mind," Kedmon motioned at Jules to close the door as they walked into his office. He sat in the carved chair behind the desk and rested his feet on the desktop. "There's no way of cancelling it, and you know it."